IPARTICIPATE Diversity&Media Conference

iParticipate Conference Speakers

Zrinka Bralo United Kingdom Zrinka Bralo was a journalist in Bosnia before the conflict began, including five years at the National Radio in Sarajevo.

After war broke out, she coordinated international media coverage from Sarajevo. As the conflict escalated, Zrinka sought refuge in the United Kingdom. Since 2001, Zrinka has served as head of the Migrant and Refugee Communities Forum in London. The Forum provides support, advice and training to wide range of immigrants: from asylum seekers to highly skilled migrants. Its work aids integration of individuals and communities in a meaningful way. The Forum also provides a platform for migrants’ voices to influence policies and perceptions that impact their lives and organises communities to participate in civic life.

She has recently authored Spot Racism Online – A Practical Guide publication combating hate speech on social media

and Internet. Zrinka has served as a Commissioner on the Independent AsylumCommission. Shetookpartinacampaign to end detention of children for immigration purposes in 2010.

She has written for The Guardian, OpenDemocracy and The Huffington Post. Her evidence about biased media coverage of immigration was included into the Leveson report and its recommendations. In 2011 Zrinka launched the Women on the Move Awards recognising outstanding grass roots leaders.

Zrinka is a founding trustee of Most Mira (The Bridge of Peace) charity that delivers arts-based programmes for ethnically segregated young people in rural Northern Bosnia. She is a winner of the 2011 Voices of Courage Award by the Women’s Refugee Commission in New York. She holds an MSc in Media & Communications from the London School of Economics and is a 2014 Churchill Fellow.

Jon Danzig United Kingdom Jon Danzig is a journalist and filmmaker, with many years’ experience writing, broadcasting, magazine editing, photography and filmmaking. On BBC Radio 4 Jon was an investigative journalist with consumer champion Roger Cook.

In the USA he was a freelance foreign correspondent, writing for the British press. For many years, he ran his own successful video production company, Look-Hear, producing over 100 short films. He was Deputy Editor of Miss London magazine; an Editor at New Internationlist magazine, for whom he also edited a United Nations newspaper. His articles have been published in The Guardian, The Independent, the Daily Mirror, British Medical Journal, and others. His journalism career started as a teenager when he persuaded the Editor of the Watford Observer to let him edit a page every week

for young people called ‘Accent on Youth’. His specialist areas are health, human rights and the European Union.

Jon conducted an investigation during 2014 into a Daily Mail story (“Daily Mail: Trick or Truth? You decide”) which falsely claimed that UK-bound planes and buses from Romania and Bulgaria were full up and sold-out during the 2014 New Year period. Jon complained to the Press Complaints Commission who eventually upheld his complaint that the newspaper’s story breached their Editor’s Code on accuracy. A UK-based Romanian community website in the UK has named Jon as their ‘Man of the Year 2014’ “for his relentless pursuit, for not quitting when the claims were denied, for his struggle & determination to counter the demonization of Romanians in the UK by the tabloid press”.

iParticipate Conference Speakers

Petros Iosifidis United Kingdom Petros Iosifidis obtained his first degree in Sociology from Panteion University of Athens and completed his MA in Communication Policy Studies and a PhD in Media Policy at City University and University of Westminster respectively. He is currently Professor in Media & Communication Policy at City University, London. He is author of five books with themes ranging from public service media, global media policy, to media and globalization. He has published extensively

in refereed journals such as the Gazette, Media Culture and Society, European Journal of Communication and has presented papers at international conferences. He serves as an ESRC Peer Review College reviewer and as a national expert for European Commission projects. He is Editor of the International Journal of Digital Television and Co-Editor of the Palgrave Global Media Policy and Business Book Series.

Stefania Magi Italy Stefania Magi is Councillor for the integration of new citizens & equal opportunities for the Municipality of Arezzo (Tuscany), Italy. Born in Arezzo in 1964, she graduated in Medicine and specialized in Neurology. Her engagement with the voluntary

Sara Biagiotti

Italy

Sara Biagiotti is Mayor of the Municipality of Sesto Fiorentino and President of the Association of Tuscan Municipalities. She was born in Florence in 1970, and graduated in Economics.

She is member of the National Council of Equal Opportunities

Simone Gheri

sector has focused on minors without families and lead to the promotion of initiatives that were ethical, encouraged integration and promoted citizenship issues. She is a founding member of the Democratic Party.

for the Democratic Party. In 2012, she was responsible for the election campaign of the current Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi. She also oversees primary elections as Secretary of the Democratic Party.

Italy

Simone Gheri is Secretary-General of the Association of Tuscan Municipalities. He was born in Florence in 1966 and graduated in Political Science. He is the former Vice-Mayor

and then Mayor of Scandicci from 2000 to 2014. He was elected as the Secretary-General of the Association of Tuscan Municipalities in September 2014.

iParticipate Conference Speakers

Anna Meli

Italy

Anna Meli is an expert in intercultural communication and a journalist for online newspapers and news agencies. She has worked as researcher and trainer on migration, public participation and diversity in the media for universities

and Italian and European Union NGOs. She is the general coordinator of the Charter of Rome Association created by National Federation of the Italian Press and the National Council of the Journalists’ Professional Association.

Massimiliano Vrenna Italy Massimiliano Vrenna is an immigration lawyer and member of Dirpolis Institute, Sant’ Anna School of Advanced Studies.

His main expertise includes immigration regional policies, the relationship between welfare and immigration and state and regional competence on immigration. He has

published extensively on migration and welfare in many reviews and been involved with a leading regional project on immigration. For the last 15 years he has worked with many Italian municipalities and regions on immigration policies.

He is based in Tuscany.

Paulo Faustino Portugal Paulo Faustino is Chairman of International Media Management Academic Association (IMMAA), doing PostDoctoral research related to Media & Creative Industries. He was Visiting Researcher at Stanford University (EUA), Oxford University (UK), Columbia University (EUA), and Navarra University (Spain). Paulo Faustino teaches media marketing, management, economics and public policies at all levels in national and international universities. In Portugal he teaches at Porto University, the Media Communication School of Lisbon and in the School of Education & Social Sciences of Leiria. He is Visiting Professor in various international universities (Brazil, Russia & China). He holds a PhD in Media Management (Complutense Univ. of Madrid). He holds a degree in Human Resources Management and a Master in Economic & Organizational Sociology (Technical University of Lisbon). He has also completed Advanced and Executive Courses in Media & Entertainment Management (Anderson

School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles), Regulation Course (London School of Economics) and Publishing Management (Stanford University). He is the founder, partner and president of Media XXI/Formalpress, Consulting, Research & Book Publishing. He was advisor for the State Secretary and Presidency Minister of the XV and XVI Constitutional Governments. His consultancy work includes the World Bank and the Portuguese Media Regulatory Entity. He was an Executive Board Advisor at Lusomundo Media/Portugal Telecom’s group, VP of the Portuguese Press Association, General Secretary of Portuguese Media Confederation, President of the Communication Observatory and board member of the Centre for Professional Training in Journalism (Cenjor). He has authored and co-authored ten books (media economics, public policies, management & creative industries) and twenty+ scientific articles published in national and international journals.

iParticipate Conference Speakers

Ken Hassell United States Ken Hassell is currently a Professor Emeritus with Elon University in the United States after more than a 30 year academic career. An earlier incarnation of his life included working as a physical laborer while devoting his life to activism for peace and civil rights. His teaching and scholarship are transdisciplinary and incorporate a number of areas of interest including documentary/social photography, visual culture, ethnography, the anthropology of tourism, couture fashion and the body, Appalachian studies and the

complexities of human and spatial identity. His most recent courses are innovative explorations into ideas of visuality and visual representation (Photography as Social Critique) and human normativity and alterity (Identity and the Practice of Desire). Ken has just completed a twelve year project on the Othering of central Appalachia and submitted a Fulbright proposal to work with South Asian women activists in the West London diaspora of Southall.

Local Councillors Councillor Julian Bell

Councillor Joy Morrissey

Leader of Ealing Council, Greenford Broadway Ward

Hanger Hill Ward

Councillor Ranjit Dheer JP

Councillor Joanna Dabrowska

Deputy Leader of Ealing Council, Dormer’s Wells Ward

Councillor Abdullah Gulaid Acton Central Ward

Ealing Common Ward

Councillor Binda Rai Walpole Ward

iParticipate Conference Speakers

Compères

Albie Stadtmiller Albie Stadtmiller is the Senior External Funding Officer for Ealing Youth & Connexions and is managing the iParticipate project on behalf of Ealing Council. His other role is at Ealing Community & Voluntary Service (ECVS) as the Ealing Community Network Partnerships Manager. Within this advocating position he links the 3rd sector with local and national government. He has a wealth of multi-sector

experience in leading groups, managing events and being in front of audiences, including working directly with young people. He holds an MBA from Henley Business School and an MA-based professional qualification (JNC) from Goldsmith’s College, University of London. Albie has a migration background himself, having grown up in Southern California, and has been in London for 15 years.

Elizabeth Salmon Elizabeth Salmon is a Paralegal currently working at the Ealing Equality Council; a charitable organisation focused on accessible legal advice provision and human rights law.

Elizabeth has a degree in English Literature from Queen Mary, University of London and a Master of Science in

Conference organizer

Conference partners

IPARTICIPATE partners

Gender and Politics from Birkbeck University. She completed her conversion to law in 2012 and the Legal Practice Course in 2013. Elizabeth completed research on the immigration background and current climate for migrants in the UK for the iParticipate policy research project in June 2014.